Marano di Valpolicella

The district of Marano di Valpolicella is 18 kilometres apart from Verona and it includes the community of Mondrago, Pezza, Prognol, Purano, San Rocco and Valgatara.

The Marano valley is characterized by a gentle hilly landscape. The terraces, which characterize the whole area, arrange the numerous crops in an orderly manner, following the natural contours of the land. There are many fruit trees (plum, apricot, apple, pear) and vineyards, the latter recently planted and present in the lower end of the valley. Scattered are olive trees. Despite the prevalence of the cultivated land, the landscape also covers forested areas.

Monte Castelon is an isolated top, between the valleys of Marano and Fumane. Its strategic location has made it an attractive site for human settlement from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages. It is considered one of the most important archaeological sites of the whole Valpolicella. Along the western slopes of the hill of Castelon, in Santa Maria di Minerbe, in 1835 have been unearthed the remains of a Roman temple dedicated to Minerva (hence the toponym Minerbe). In the summit area there are the remains of a castle, which is clearly related to the name Castelon; it became important due to Federico della Scala. Problably, the castle was destroyed definitively in 1325, when Federico fell into disgrace.

In the southern side of the hill Castelon there is the ancient church of Santa Maria di Menerbe, also called “della Valverde”. The church dates back to the twelfth century, but the modern structure it dates back to 1682. Inside the Church there is a venerated wooden statue of the Madonna with Child. Three more altars have been consecrated to Maria, San Rocco and the Passion of Christ.

Next to the church is a strain placed by the Sovereign and Most Noble Order of the Ancient Recioto (S.N.O.D.A.R.), in memory of the first Recioto knights, who were nominated by Federico della Scala.

The Tibetan bridge is located in Mondrago; it is fifty-two meters long and 40 wide, the bridge connects the Valpolicella and Lessinia. It is the first project of its kind in Veneto, one of the few in Italy. The work has been strongly supported by the municipalities of Marano and Sant'Anna d'Alfaedo and the Mountain Community of Lessinia for a redevelopment of the area and for a revival of tourism. Four supporting spiral ropes for structural use hold the bridge. Other four ropes form the parapet. A non-slip grid interspersed with empty spaces allows walking through the bridge in complete safety and brings transparency to the structure, limiting its impact. The bridge is calculated for a maximum load of 400 kg per square meter. It is advisable not to exceed 10 people.

In the locality of Fasanara at Valgatara, there is Villa Guantieri, one of the best preserved examples of a villa with portico and loggia with a tower. The villa, originally built in the fifteenth-century, has a portico with three arches, surmounted by a double number of arches at the lodge. Originally the facade was completely frescoed, as shown by the remains of a high frieze. The large inner courtyard can be spatially divided into two sectors. On the left there is a manor building, in the classical fifteenth century style, On the facade you can still see the remains of a decorative painting that was to cover the entire front. On the right there is a seven-century building, characterized by elegant arches on the ground floor and balconies on the first floor.